The Ministry of Education and Training is seeking opinions on the draft circular on the Regulation on university-level training.
A noteworthy new feature of this draft is the proposal that talented students, who achieve excellent grades, can graduate from university in 1.5 - 2.5 years, a reduction of nearly half compared to the standard.
Currently, according to the framework of the national education system, the training program for university level is about 3-5 years of intensive study.
This means that students can graduate from university earliest within 2-3.3 years, depending on the standard training time that the school stipulates.
First of all, it should be affirmed that university is not a race for time. But it should also not be a place that forces everyone to go at the same speed.
For many years, our higher education system has mainly been designed according to the "time-lined" mindset. To get a degree, learners must go through a certain number of school years.
This approach helps ensure consistency in training, but sometimes does not fully reflect the actual capacity of learners.
But in reality, there are students who possess very good self-learning ability, quickly absorb knowledge, proactively conduct scientific research and complete learning requirements far exceeding the general level.
If they fully meet the output standards, accumulate enough credits, and pass strict assessments, then graduating early is reasonable.
From a social perspective, this is also an effective way to use high-quality human resources as well as reduce cost pressure for each individual and family.
A young engineer, technology expert or researcher with outstanding ability who enters the labor market earlier will have more time to contribute, create and create value for the economy.
However, the draft and proposal of the Ministry of Education and Training also raise concerns about the quality of training.
Because university is not just about getting enough credits but also a process of training soft skills, critical thinking, teamwork ability, internship experience, scientific research and maturity in an academic environment...
These are values that are difficult to measure by the number of completed subjects.
A student can learn very quickly to pass exams, but it is not certain that they have enough professional experience or maturity needed for their future job.
Especially for industries requiring high practice such as medicine, pedagogy, engineering or architecture, the excessive shortening of training time needs to be considered very carefully.
Therefore, the proposal that students of the talent system, with excellent grades, can graduate from university in 1.5 - 2.5 years, reduced by half compared to the standard, must be accompanied by a quality assurance mechanism.
Students may reach the finish line earlier, but still have to fully meet the requirements of professional knowledge, professional skills, scientific research, practice and internship.
If output standards are maintained and the evaluation mechanism is strict enough, shortening the training time will be an opportunity to promote talent. Conversely, if only chasing speed but loosening standards, early graduation certificates will lose their meaning.
The value of higher education must ultimately be measured by the ability that learners achieve, not the number of years they sit in the lecture hall.
